


From The View of Stars

by ITSFANDOMNIC



Series: doctrina dulcedinem [1]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Minor Allison Reynolds/Renee Walker, no beta we die like meh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2020-02-28 06:58:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18751336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ITSFANDOMNIC/pseuds/ITSFANDOMNIC
Summary: Renee knows Andrew can be soft. She also knows he has forgotten how to, and watches him relearn, slowly, with Neil.





	From The View of Stars

The thing is, Renee has always known Andrew is able to be soft. Relaxed.  _Vulnerable._

But she also knows he can't, in the same way that  _she_ couldn't, before.

Stephanie and Alison have long since changed that.

And Neil seems to be doing the same, now, for Andrew.

The others don't notice the gradual change in Andrew. They don't look for it, write him of as  _monster, emotionless, sociopath._

The other don't notice the gradual change in Andrew. They've never had their lives hang on the balence of details. ( _not like her's has)_

She does. Renee sees it all, all the signs that she herself showed, once, with Stephanie.

Andrew is relearning how to let his guard down in front of someone else. How to be vulnerable with someone else.

It starts slow, a slight change in his mask of expression, a minute release of tension, a new, faint, light sparking in his eyes before it dies like unnoticed.

(Well. Unnoticed by the rest. She sees it.)

Renee is still unsure if this strange softening of Andrew's sharp edges will last.

He might still crumple, she thinks. He might still break. 

Renee has her faith to rely on, Alison to depend on, the team at her back to help her when she stumbles.

Andrew has none of that.

(The team might support him. Andrew is still too set in being alone to let them try it.)

So she doubts. In the back of her mind, it builds. She does her best to weaken the growing tower, pull it down. She's not she's successful.

Not until she finds the concrete proof the blows the tower to dust. 

Renee sometimes goes to the roof. Not as often as Andrew-she doesn't need the fear of falling to feel-but often enough to know the just right way to jiggle the knob to make the broken lock on the door slide and fall open.

She smokes, sometimes, and she doesn't want to make her room smell like smoke. (Smoking is the one bit of her past she hasn't been able to give up. Not yet.)

Renee opens the door, slow, quiet, and almost steps out before she stops.

Andrew is sitting close to the edge, cigarette burning lazily in his hand.

It's not an unusual sight. What is though, is that Neil is right next to him.

Neil is spread on his back, head in Andrew's lap, talking quietly. His hand traces up Andrew's jawline, into his hair. It tangles there, settled and still like it's found a home for the runaway with none.

Andrew has a soft, small smile on his face as he leans his head into Neil's hand.He doesn't look or change at all, but Renee knows he sees her.

Renee smiles. Closing the door silently behind her, she makes her way back to her dorm.

Back to where Alison waits.

Because two of her most worrisome, troublesome Foxes are happy.

Because she is happy.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> This turned out less a renee-walks-in-on-soft-andriel and more of a character study/introspection thing. Eh.


End file.
